The near future: aller plus infinitive
You already know aller. Put an infinitive after it and you can talk about everything you are going to do next week.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied
Key learning points
- • The formula
- • Negatives and questions
- • Time markers give it away
- • Building a three-tense paragraph
This lesson at a glance
- 30 minutes
- 25 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 25
Watch first
The near future: aller plus infinitive
Aller plus an infinitive, used to plan a whole weekend.
In a nutshell
Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied
What you already know
Part 2 of 25
Before we start
What you already know
You should already know the present tense of aller (je vais, tu vas, il/elle va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont).
Key words
Part 3 of 25
Key words
Words you'll need today
- le futur proche
- the near future tense
- infinitif
- the unchanged verb form, e.g. jouer, finir, prendre
- demain
- tomorrow
- le week-end prochain
- next weekend
- plus tard
- later
Reset break
Part 4 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 5 of 25
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Forming the near future
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 25
Learn
The formula
Present tense of aller + infinitive. Je vais regarder un film. Nous allons visiter Paris. The second verb never changes — that is the whole point, and why this tense is worth mastering before the simple future.
Explore the idea
Part 7 of 25
Learn
Negatives and questions
The ne … pas wraps around aller only: je ne vais pas sortir. For questions, use intonation or est-ce que: est-ce que tu vas venir? The infinitive stays put at the end.
Reset break
Part 8 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 25
Quick check
Part 10 of 25
Learning cycle
Part 11 of 25
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Using it in real answers
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Reset break
Part 12 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 13 of 25
Learn
Time markers give it away
Signal the tense with demain, ce soir, la semaine prochaine or pendant les vacances. Markers help a listener and, in an exam, prove that your tense choice was deliberate rather than lucky.
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 25
Learn
Building a three-tense paragraph
Say what you usually do, what you did, and what you are going to do: normalement je joue au foot; samedi dernier j'ai joué au tennis; demain je vais nager. Three sentences, three tenses, a much stronger answer.
Quick check
Part 15 of 25
Reset break
Part 16 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 17 of 25
Common mix-ups
Part 18 of 25
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- Do not conjugate the second verb: je vais jouer, never je vais joue.
- The negative surrounds aller, not the infinitive.
- Aller here means 'going to', not physically going somewhere.
Challenge round
Part 19 of 25
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 20 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 5 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 21 of 25
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
____ tense of aller + infinitive.
The second verb never changes — that is the whole point, and why this tense is worth mastering before the simple ____.
Three sentences, three ____, a much stronger answer.
Challenge round
Part 22 of 25
Game · Recall cards
'We are going to visit' is...
Card 1 of 4
Exit quiz
Part 23 of 25
Exit quiz
Show what you've learned
6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.
1. Second verb form is...
2. 'tu vas' + faire =
3. 'la semaine prochaine' means...
4. Question form:
5. Three-tense answers are strong because they show...
6. 'Je vais aller' is...
Mastery quiz
Part 24 of 25
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: The near future: aller plus infinitive
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. 'We are going to visit' is...
2. Negative of 'je vais sortir'?
3. Which is a future time marker?
4. 'Ils vont manger' means...
Lesson round-up
Part 25 of 25
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
Not sat
Games
Not played
Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 25 · Watch & discover